Were there ever actually any positive, healthy examples of courting and/or marriage in the old tales?
Actually, I can think of one story that would have the couple being friends before lovers.
Snow white and Rose redI don't know if that story is commonly known in English speaking countries. Of course Rose Red is married off to the prince's brother (whom she never met before)
And here is a link to
Rapunzel - complete with the twins - that part gets censored frequently because of the common "no sex before marriage" policy.
And Rapunzel would also be a good example for courting (assuming the Prince hadn't forced her to sleep with him. ) But since he keeps searching for her for years even though he's blind, one can assume he was a decent guy. And she cried happy tears when she saw him again, so that, too, would point to a healthy relationship.
And here we are again - one night of having trouble with falling asleep and we have an interesting discussion going.
